Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. set a $69.00 price target on Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 26th. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer Holdings also issued estimates for Discover Financial Services’ Q3 2017 earnings at $1.50 EPS, Q4 2017 earnings at $1.59 EPS, FY2017 earnings at $5.92 EPS and FY2018 earnings at $6.50 EPS.
DFS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank AG downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price target for the company from $87.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Instinet reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $86.00 price target (down previously from $88.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday, April 29th. BidaskClub raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday, June 10th. Jefferies Group LLC reissued a buy rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Finally, Rafferty Capital Markets reissued a hold rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $74.21.
Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 21.28%. Discover Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.47 EPS.
Discover Financial Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 28th that allows the company to buyback $2.23 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. This is a boost from Discover Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.73%.
In other Discover Financial Services news, CEO David W. Nelms sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.52, for a total transaction of $1,875,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Roger C. Hochschild sold 15,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.04, for a total transaction of $931,348.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 814,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,747,538.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 107,744 shares of company stock worth $6,658,830. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 64.2% in the first quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. FNY Managed Accounts LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.3% in the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Architects Inc raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 65.1% in the second quarter. Financial Architects Inc now owns 2,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Discover Financial Services Company Profile
Discover Financial Services (DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company. The Company is a bank holding company, as well as a financial holding company. The Company operates through two segments: Direct Banking and Payment Services. It provides direct banking products and services, and payment services through its subsidiaries.
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